The conversion of Jewish children to Catholicism has a long and troubling history. Its occurrence during the Holocaust raises urgent questions, especially in connection with children in hiding. In German-occupied countries like France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, priests and nuns rescued Jewish children from almost certain death, but this rescue came at a price. How did Jewish children experience life in monasteries, convents, and church schools? Lauren Rossi’s presentation draws on testimonies in the Visual History Archive of the Shoah Foundation as well as separate testimony archives to explore the roles played by religion and spirituality in the daily lives of Jewish children in hiding during the Shoah and the complex motivations of their “saviors.” Lauren Rossi received her PhD from Brown University and is currently an assistant professor of Holocaust and Genocide History at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. Her publications include her first book, “Wehrmacht Priests: Catholicism and the Nazi War of Annihilation” (2015), and academic articles in the fields of European history, Holocaust history, and contemporary genocide studies.
Admission/Cost: FREE Registration required
Location:
Geisel Library
UCSD
9701 Hopkins Drive
La Jolla, CA
Thursday, January 22 - 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
